Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, says many US Muslims are optimistic that President Barack Obama’s administration will lead to a new climate of religious openness.

January 22, 2009

As Justice William O. Douglas intoned over 50 years ago, “We are a religious people and our institutions presuppose a Supreme Being.” That truth was on full display at the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. The ceremonies were … More →

January 21, 2009

I turned on CNN just before leaving for work in Toronto early Tuesday morning.  Cameras showed a sea of people making their way onto the National Mall, hurrying in order to wait for five hours, happily enduring 20-degree temperatures. A … More →

January 21, 2009

We didn’t quite dare to say it out loud before, but today we repeated it to ourselves over and over: We have our first African-American president. Barack Obama never asked us to vote for him because of his race, and … More →

January 21, 2009

Connections between Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. are inevitable. Some see the presidential inauguration as a testament to the sacrifice of Reverend King and a as powerful expression of hope. More →

January 16, 2009

The Rev. Sharon Watkins, president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who will preach at the National Prayer Service the day after Barack Obama’s inauguration, talks about the broad themes of her sermon and the significance of being the … More →

January 16, 2009

Evangelical megachurch pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren will deliver the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration. In interviews over the years with RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY managing editor Kim Lawton, he has described the wide-ranging political and moral agenda he … More →

January 15, 2009

Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson, who will deliver the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial inaugural event on January 18, talked during the campaign last May with RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY managing editor Kim Lawton about endorsing political candidates … More →

January 15, 2009

BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: We look back now at 2008 with the help of Kim Lawton of RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY; Roland Martin, a CNN commentator who joins us from Chicago; and E.J. Dionne, a columnist for The Washington Post and … More →

December 26, 2008

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is asking a range of religious leaders what they most hope for in the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Watch Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary of the Reformed Church in America; Larry Rasmussen, Reinhold … More →

December 19, 2008